Matsumoto Castle

Matsumoto Castle
松本城
Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Japan
The keep
Matsumoto Castle
Coordinates	36°14′20″N 137°58′09″E / 36.23889°N 137.96917°E / 36.23889; 137.96917
Type	Hirashiro (flatland castle)
Site information
Condition	Original keep (tenshu) and several other buildings and inner walls survive, several gates have been rebuilt since 1960
Site history
Built	Current structures date from 1594; 430 years ago (1594)
Built by	Shimadachi Sadanaga
In use	1504; 520 years ago (1504) to 1868; 156 years ago (1868)
Materials	Earth, stone, and wood
Demolished	Outer castle was taken down and the land reclaimed in the Meiji Restoration
National Treasure National Historic Site of Japan

Matsumoto Castle (松本城, Matsumoto-jō), originally known as Fukashi Castle, is one of Japan's premier historic castles, along with Himeji and Kumamoto. It was the seat of Matsumoto Domain under the Edo Period Tokugawa shogunate. It is located in the city of Matsumoto, in Nagano Prefecture.

The keep 天守閣 (tenshukaku), which was completed in the late sixteenth century, maintains its original wooden interiors and external stonework. It is listed as a National Treasure of Japan, and is one of the twelve surviving tenshu in Japan.^[1] It is surrounded by 4 buildings which have also been designated as National Treasures.^[2]

Matsumoto Castle is a flatland castle 平城 (hirajiro) because it is not built on a hilltop or amid rivers, but on a plain.^[1] Its complete defences would have included an extensive system of inter-connecting walls, moats, and gatehouses.^[1]